School Security Update!

“As an RSO (School Resource Officer, armed police officer assigned to a public school), I work at a school and am charged with keeping school staff and students from harm, even when that necessitates the application of force, including deadly force.

First week on the job, I walked-off all the school’s hallways in order to determine what distances might be involved when I’m forced to shoot a dangerous felon within the school building.

Longest distance was 100m. ‘Typical’ distances were point-blank to 20m

As one of your students, I am a competent pistol-shooter, but a 100m shot with my S&W M&P is not something I’m likely to attempt, particularly when the threat is mixed-in with innocents.

After the FL school shooting last February, I approached the school superintendent, along with the entire school board, and offered my resolution:

I asked them to mount a bio-metric gun-safe in my office at the school and secure my patrol rifle there, so I can get to it quickly when necessary. I explained that, as so secured, the rifle will be otherwise out of sight, and out of conversation.

My patrol rifle is equipped with magnifying optics, as well as a silencer, so that I can clearly see a developing situation 100m away, and then precisely hit a threat at that distance, without endangering innocents nearby, and without making a lot of panic-inducing noise.. I don’t have anywhere near that capability with my iron-sighted pistol.

I must have been persuasive, because the superintendent, supported by nearly the entire board, approved my plan and even paid for the safe and installation!

At least one member of the board, a liberal, notoriously anti-gun/anti-police, objected. Of course, she doesn’t want any kind of RSO on-property anyway. Happily, she was over-ruled by more sensible board-members.

With some academics, liberal politics takes precedence over everything else, even personal safety. Most of ours displayed common sense this time, thank Heaven!”

Comment:

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. With any luck, my friend’s sage tactical thinking will never be put to the test.

Like so many unsung heroes who wear uniforms every day, my friend is on the forward edge of societal evolution.

This will all be ignored by the media, of course, which is just as well. But, we are making forward progress, albeit way too slowly!